Charitable Trust, independent of Council

[Colin]

I wonder just how many of the trustees of the Shetland Charitable Trust can define "Democracy", let alone spell it.

"Democracy" ?  It's all Greek to most of them.. 

[Ghostrider]

Oh, dear. What is that saying about self praise again.

 

An SIBC headline today.....

 

 

The trustees of the Shetland Charitable Trust have praised the achievements of the trust and organisations it helps fund in enhancing the quality of life in the islands.

 

The only time this despicable mob seem to open their collective gob these days is to try, and fail, to blow their own trumpet. What's up with them, guilty conscience or summat.

[Urabug]

When the Scottish Government gets there greedy hands on those investments,there will be less to celebrate. 

 

I guess we all gain in some way or another from the success of the "Charitable Trust",some of us far more than others. 

 

Where there is money involved there will never be full agreement on how it is spent or for that matter how it is invested .

 

I've come to the conclusion the powers that be will do what they want to do and that my dulcet tones like most others will be ignored, so I just sit back and let them get on with it. 

 

It does make sense though for the Charitable Trust to try and build up the funds and not go on a spend ,spend, spend spree,but I know folk who would rather see all this money spent.

 

We cannot have our cake and eat it.

[Urabug]

I was dismayed to hear on Radio Shetland tonight one of our councilors suggest that we should assist the Scottish Government by spending our charitable funds to support the Shetland Island Ferries.

 

Our political leader thank goodness has some sense and is very much against this.

 

I'm not sure how our" pot of gold "should be spent but spending it on anything that should be funded by government as has been done in the past is absolutely crazy.

 

We should only be spending about 75% of what this money earns annually thus allowing it to grow and provide something extra to the Shetland folk for years and years to come,not simply hand it over to the Scottish Government to fritter it all away.

 

If there was not so much opposition to some of the investment plans,the Charitable Trust might have been in a position to fund the ferries.

[Property2017]

I personally think we should donate the reserve fund to charity , its nothing but a bone of contention and the people who are employed to look after it are not up to the job, get rid of it and get on with life like the rest of the UK.

[Urabug]

I personally think we should donate the reserve fund to charity , its nothing but a bone of contention and the people who are employed to look after it are not up to the job, get rid of it and get on with life like the rest of the UK.

It is already in a charity,a charity that has been a benefit to us all,in many different ways.

 

Yes,some have scored better than others,that will always be the case but there cannot be many sensible folk around that would give all their money while they are alive to charity and not keep some for a rainy day,so it is rather stupid to think that Shetland should give our reserves to another charity 

 

What problem would that solve?

[Ghostrider]

Shetland's oil money for dummies type explanation required here.

 

The Charitable Trust we kinda know about, its been through the press enough lately that's its skeletons have mostly all be well rattled. Its (theoretically at least) a self-sufficient (supposed to be) stand alone fund, entirely seperate from the SIC, run by a bunch of unevictable unmentionables.

 

The Reserve Fund is very much another type of beast though in my understanding. Correct me where I go wrong here, as I surely will, but is it or isn't it still a wholly SIC thing? Likewise, is or isn't the 'Reserve Fund' the same thing as the 'SIC's Reserves'? My understanding is that the Reserve Fund is SIC run, but that would seem at odds with it being a charity, or would it. So???? My understanding also is that the 'SIC's Reserves' is a wholly different bank account to the 'Reserve Fund'. and is most definitely wholly SIC controlled. Yes/no?

[whalsa]

Shetland's oil money for dummies type explanation required here.

 

The Charitable Trust we kinda know about, its been through the press enough lately that's its skeletons have mostly all be well rattled. Its (theoretically at least) a self-sufficient (supposed to be) stand alone fund, entirely seperate from the SIC, run by a bunch of unevictable unmentionables.

 

The Reserve Fund is very much another type of beast though in my understanding. Correct me where I go wrong here, as I surely will, but is it or isn't it still a wholly SIC thing? Likewise, is or isn't the 'Reserve Fund' the same thing as the 'SIC's Reserves'? My understanding is that the Reserve Fund is SIC run, but that would seem at odds with it being a charity, or would it. So???? My understanding also is that the 'SIC's Reserves' is a wholly different bank account to the 'Reserve Fund'. and is most definitely wholly SIC controlled. Yes/no?

Pretty much. The Councils Reserves are entirely separate from the Charitable Trusts funds and is controlled directly by the SIC. Currently the return we receive from investing this money is used to fund services (in effect "topping up" the funding shortage from Holyrood). 

 

 

 

I was dismayed to hear on Radio Shetland tonight one of our councilors suggest that we should assist the Scottish Government by spending our charitable funds to support the Shetland Island Ferries.

 

Our political leader thank goodness has some sense and is very much against this.

 

I'm not sure how our" pot of gold "should be spent but spending it on anything that should be funded by government as has been done in the past is absolutely crazy.

 

We should only be spending about 75% of what this money earns annually thus allowing it to grow and provide something extra to the Shetland folk for years and years to come,not simply hand it over to the Scottish Government to fritter it all away.

 

If there was not so much opposition to some of the investment plans,the Charitable Trust might have been in a position to fund the ferries.

I agree with you. There is no way we should be using Shetland's oil funds to pay for services which the Scottish Government have already admitted they should be paying for. This disparity (between Orkney & Shetland and the rest of "Scotland's" islands) has also been highlighted recently by Audit Scotland. 

 

 

When people talk about spending the reserves (on tunnels, ferries, schools - whatever) they fail to realise that spending them would leave a massive hole in our budget and drastic service cuts would follow pretty much across the board. 

[Guest tiodylb17]

Its needs to be managed better

Edited November 3, 2017 by tiodylb17

[Urabug]

Yes the reserve fund and the Charitable fund are separate funds in their own right but I see them as one because if one goes almost certainly in my opinion the other will suffer the same fate

 

It seems the Scottish Government will do it's utmost to get us to spend this money rather than give us an extra penny towards essential services that is there responsibility. 

 

I hope our councilors have the ability to persuade the appropriate officials that our oil funds are not for indiscriminate use

 

If we need a penny on the tax to pay for new ferries ect  then so be it.

 

One thing for sure if peerie Nicola has her way we will not have to worry about how these funds are managed,their will be nothing left to manage. 

[Wheelsup]

The bankrupt SG have obviously got their beady eyes on our reserve fund.

 

We should be trying to get rid if it by some “sensible” investment, as they will simply keep reducing any funding until its gone anyway.

 

They are going to put the taxes up whatever

[whalsa]

The bankrupt SG have obviously got their beady eyes on our reserve fund.

 

We should be trying to get rid if it by some “sensible” investment, as they will simply keep reducing any funding until its gone anyway.

 

They are going to put the taxes up whatever

Wheelsup if we "get rid of it" by any means we will be forced into massive service cuts, I am sure you wouldn't like to see schools and care homes etc being closed due to a lack of funds?

[Capeesh]

Austerity = cuts

We (the UK) voted in a Tory government in London who promised to slash spending and cut borrowing.

It's worth remembering local authority funding in England has been cut by 26% since 2010 (source fullfact.org).

Every council/authority in Britain is feeling the pinch.

Of course our representatives in the SIC, Scottish Government, UK government and EU (while we're still members) should be screaming from the rooftops to secure more cash, but it seems to me our slice of the pie is shrinking because the people baking the pie (the UK treasury) are busy doing what the Tories promised they would do, cutting the ingredients and making it smaller.

That, paired with the UK having a stagnant or shrinking economy, (if economists predictions on no deal Brexit are correct), means there'll probably more cuts to come.

[whalsa]

Shetland has received similar, if not higher, cuts with 10.4% cut in the past two years alone - more than any other area in Scotland. 

Much of the UKs financial woes can be blamed on Westminster but Holyrood are the ones directly inflicting huge cuts on Scotland's local authorities. For example, in 16/17 the Scottish Government received a cash increase from Westminster but cut local authority funding by £350M, with Shetland receiving the worst percentage cut of all of these. 

It appears to me that Holyrood is starving local authorities of funding (rural regions in particular), for what reason is anyone's guess but I wouldn't be surprised if it was to fund projects such as shiny new vote winning bridges in the central belt.

 

[Urabug]

Shetland has received similar, if not higher, cuts with 10.4% cut in the past two years alone - more than any other area in Scotland. 

 

Much of the UKs financial woes can be blamed on Westminster but Holyrood are the ones directly inflicting huge cuts on Scotland's local authorities. For example, in 16/17 the Scottish Government received a cash increase from Westminster but cut local authority funding by £350M, with Shetland receiving the worst percentage cut of all of these. 

 

It appears to me that Holyrood is starving local authorities of funding (rural regions in particular), for what reason is anyone's guess but I wouldn't be surprised if it was to fund projects such as shiny new vote winning bridges in the central belt.

 

 

Where did the extra funding that was required to partly complete the Edinburgh Trams come from, and where will the extra funding to finally get it down to Leith and complete the original project pop up from.

 

the Queensferry Crossing not to mention the thousands now to be spent on the old Forth Bridge. Dey will fin money fur dat du can be sure!

 

You are absolutely correct whalsa the Shetland Islands seems to be at the bottom of the picking list . 

Edited November 4, 2017 by Urabug